Happy Hugh Year!

Yeah, I'm a little late to the game with that, but I like to think of this whole year as the Hugh Year so I'm gonna run with it!  Here are a couple updates about Hugh.

Things are off to a good start and things are really ramping up. There's a lot of background work that goes into starting a small business, and I'm really fortunate that the Hatch Detroit prize comes with some important donated services.

The first place I stopped was at the offices of the intellectual property experts at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn where I met with Mike Lisi and Julie Kretzschmer. They were cool and down-to-earth and were very helpful in explaining the ins and out of trademark law to a neophyte. Plus Mike knew my old store Mezzanine from its Ann Arbor days and that always excites me.

For a little guy, spending the money to protect your ideas and your brand is usually low on the list of priorities (it was always a "wish list" item when I had Mezzanine) so it was pretty amazing to have a chance to talk to attorneys who are the best in the biz. It may seem overkill for an independent retail store to officially secure its brand (would anyone really steal it?) but I think Hugh is a super idea and I have big plans for it. So don't even think of copying it, I'm covered!

The other cool thing was my appearance in HOUR Detroit! My friend Alexa Stanard penned a great little profile of Hugh and Hatch Detroit and my tips for adopting classic bachelor style in 2012. HOUR is always so wonderful about covering cool things happening in the city and I was pretty excited to be featured. They are good people.

Now I'm not sure if the editors did this to protect the delicate sensitivities of HOUR readers or if they did it to protect me from overzealous parents who might not have appreciated the comparison, but I had a pretty good quote (I'm told) that was cut from the piece. Paragraph four should have read:

Although Hugh will aim squarely for the unencumbered male who knows how to make a mean Manhattan, Posch says everyone, even families, can enjoy the store’s well-designed home goods built to last.  

“At Hugh we’re not super concerned with child-friendliness,” Posch says. “But, you know, babies fall down and drunks fall down. Some of those concerns are universal.”

Many thanks to Dante Stella for the photograph, and being available on short notice to help me out. He is Hugh's biggest booster. In case you are wondering, the photo was taken in my friend's studio at the Scarab Club and if I look a little bloated, it was the day after Thanksgiving, so I was. Normally I am thin like supermodel.

A Little Media for Hugh

Boy, the Hatch Detroit competition really drags you right back into the cut-throat world of Detroit retail!  And by cut-throat I mean super supportive and non-competitive.  I know, it's weird here.

Hugh is doing OK in the competition, we are routinely about 120 out of fourth place, which is where we need to be to move on to the next round.  If you can drum up some new votes for us, we'd be really glad.  200 would be awesome.

In the meantime, Hugh has made the media a bit!  Why?  Maybe because it's the best idea that is PURE RETAIL in the competition!  See something!  Love something!  Buy something!

Our first hit?  Curbed Detroit says "Food Desert? Try Design Desert: Why Detroit Needs Hugh"

Yesterday I hung out with Craig Fahle on WDET. In the past I've been able to say things like "taint of the Nain Rouge" and "doggy style" on the air.  Today I got to say "lovehughlongtime."  It's amazing how much they humor me at WDET.

Mark Maynard is a little annoyed that he didn't follow-through with his Hatch-type idea, but that's what you get when you procrastinate I guess.  We are old friends though, I still like him.  He's crabby and smart.  And he likes Hugh.

Block Party

My friend Oneita writes a great blog for the Free Press called O Street.  I've always admired her "tell it like it is" approach and her ability to connect with a broad audience all over the Metropolitan Detroit area.

Hugh hosted her Third Anniversary "Block Party" this week (we hosted two others at Mezzanine) and it was a Detroit Who's-Who.  What else would you expect from a Hugh party?

(Photo Sabrina Nelson)

I should be flanked by two beauties in every photo.  That's Oneita on the left, and fellow Lafayette Park resident (and writer of the great Marsha Music blog) Marsha Cusic on the right.

Take a look at some of the other photos from the party here.

Good News for Hugh

As we hit the T-minus 40 days and counting mark with Hugh (yes, it's all ending that soon), it's a real gas to be voted "Best Store for the Bachelor" by Real Detroit Weekly!

Sure, it might be a temporary retail venture (with an alleged six-month lifespan since fall ’09, get there soon!) for local tastemaker Joe Posch (of Mezzanine fame), but Hugh’s a wonderful one at that. The lifestyle shop gives a nod to the classic bachelor in Foxtown’s Iodent Building (which also houses Centaur). At Hugh, you can stock up on vintage and contemporary accessories for the bar: martini shakers, wine carafes, shot glasses and drink stirrers, as well as retro issues of Playboy Magazine (hence the boutique name), as well as sophisticated and stylish goods for home, office and wardrobe. We can’t forget to mention the witty URL associated with Hugh — lovehughlongtime.com.

Read about all the other cool stores that won here.  Thanks Real Detroit Weekly!

Fox 2 Loves Hugh

Fox 2 Detroit took a moment to chat with us about some exceptional guy gift ideas this morning.  Here's the video.

A Smart Idea

Some more great press for Hugh - this time from Crain's Business Detroit Small Business reporter Nancy Kaffer's blog.  "Retail happenings, building your brand online and the social media marketing melange" talks about the strategies and challenges of building a niche business in Detroit, and it mentions fellow new retailers City Bird and Leopold's Books.

It's a great read, check it out!

Everything you ever wanted to know about temporary retail but were afraid to ask.

Mark Maynard is a friend I  met in my Ann Arbor days, and he writes a fantastic blog about living in Ypsilanti.  Ypsi is a community close to my heart, partially because of its parallels with Detroit, and partially because it has its own brand of cool.

Mark stopped into Hugh this past weekend, and we talked about the retail scene in Detroit, and I shared some thoughts on temporary retail as a phenomenon.

Read the blog entry on markmaynard.com !

Hugh may revive retail in Detroit!

There is a fantastic piece in the Detroit News today about the role temporary shops - Hugh being the first and only so far - could play in revitalizing the Detroit retail scene!  Click here to read it.

Hunting for Cool?

Then you need to take a look at Cool Hunting. It's a website that searches out cool things around the world.

Naturally they covered Hugh. Take a look!